Axe? Please educate me

Nathan the Machinist said:
I'm thinking something around 1.5 or 2.0 pound head and maybe a 20 or 24 inch handle. A light camp axe, not a boys axe, with superior metallurgy allowing thin geometry behind the edge like a swedish axe but with more pronounced compound curvature on the cheeks better suited to American woods than the European axes so this isn't going to be like one of those swedish axes that look and feel good but stick in everything but will instead be more like a thined down racing Plumb. That will cut bone on any animal alive without edge damage. If Jo will let me do it.
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I'm in if Jo is (Please):)
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I'm thinking something around 1.5 or 2.0 pound head and maybe a 20 or 24 inch handle. A light camp axe, not a boys axe, with superior metallurgy allowing thin geometry behind the edge like a swedish axe but with more pronounced compound curvature on the cheeks better suited to American woods than the European axes so this isn't going to be like one of those swedish axes that look and feel good but stick in everything but will instead be more like a thined down racing Plumb. That will cut bone on any animal alive without edge damage. If Jo will let me do it.
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7Mmde1l.jpg
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
Most stock removal guys and machinists are limited and constrained by their abilities and capabilities. I'm not limited by the abilities of some average schlup. I'm an above average schlup!
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No argument here, but I think your math on this might be off... bear with me. I’ll expound further down in this post.

mendezj said:
Since you axed: I own a small Gränsfors ax (Gränsfors Small Hatchet) that I bought for splitting the chest bone on deer. It seemed like the perfect ax for the job and for camping except that after a few knocks on bone the edge was left looking like a saw, or that’s how I saw it (get it?). Ok, so after the bad jokes, I believe a similar hatchet but well made would be great.
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Totally agree. I’ve personally witnessed failures akin to what you’re describing with their tools, and experienced one of my own, as well. I’ve never managed to understand the excitement around them, although I agree their ergonomics are nice.

Nathan the Machinist said:
What person in their right mind would pay $350 for a small axe? That is ridiculous. Why are we even talking about this?
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I think that price is... delusional. I’d gladly pay what you need to sell them for, because I understand the improvements you’ll offer, but I don’t think that price is the right price. Maybe twice that???



Casinostocks said:
Nathan, I'd buy anything from you which will bears your signature / CPK insignia even if Matthew Gregory's silliest idea in form of a CPK raisin peeler or his next silly idea, the ear & nostril hair trimmer ever come to fruition!
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Well, this is probably more silly than either of those other suggestions, but I’m still down with it. Only not at the expense of CPK.

There have been a lot of other manufacturers or makers listed throughout this thread, and the vast majority of them are utilizing simple carbon steels or basic tool steels (1055, 5160, 80CrV2, 4140, etc). Any one of these are pennies on the dollar in comparison to the expense of damn near any CPM product. That’s not factoring in expense to machine or form (CPM-3v is an order of magnitude more wear resistant than any of the steel listed above), heat treat (ALL of those steels are “get em red hot and quench em” steels, if you’ll pardon the simplification) and the Delta protocol sure as hell ain’t that simple. Etc, etc, etc.

Any one of those companies sell products at or above the price point you’re suggesting. Many of them safely double that, or better. It’s very much like me to be the ‘sayer of nay’, but I strongly suspect that the level-headed Jo is likely thinking about this the same way that I am. Don’t get me wrong, it would be hella sweet to be swinging my own personal left-handed edition of a CPK hatchet for three and a half bills, but not if it means I’m leaving the CPK crew destitute.

Just a thought, but I think this project would be a heck of a lot more realistic and therefore capable of coming to fruition if it were priced realistically from the get-go, rather than miraculously hyped at a number that can’t possibly end in anything other than financial disaster.
 
Matthew Gregory said:
No argument here, but I think your math on this might be off... bear with me. I’ll expound further down in this post.



Totally agree. I’ve personally witnessed failures akin to what you’re describing with their tools, and experienced one of my own, as well. I’ve never managed to understand the excitement around them, although I agree their ergonomics are nice.



I think that price is... delusional. I’d gladly pay what you need to sell them for, because I understand the improvements you’ll offer, but I don’t think that price is the right price. Maybe twice that???






Well, this is probably more silly than either of those other suggestions, but I’m still down with it. Only not at the expense of CPK.

There have been a lot of other manufacturers or makers listed throughout this thread, and the vast majority of them are utilizing simple carbon steels or basic tool steels (1055, 5160, 80CrV2, 4140, etc). Any one of these are pennies on the dollar in comparison to the expense of damn near any CPM product. That’s not factoring in expense to machine or form (CPM-3v is an order of magnitude more wear resistant than any of the steel listed above), heat treat (ALL of those steels are “get em red hot and quench em” steels, if you’ll pardon the simplification) and the Delta protocol sure as hell ain’t that simple. Etc, etc, etc.

Any one of those companies sell products at or above the price point you’re suggesting. Many of them safely double that, or better. It’s very much like me to be the ‘sayer of nay’, but I strongly suspect that the level-headed Jo is likely thinking about this the same way that I am. Don’t get me wrong, it would be hella sweet to be swinging my own personal left-handed edition of a CPK hatchet for three and a half bills, but not if it means I’m leaving the CPK crew destitute.

Just a thought, but I think this project would be a heck of a lot more realistic and therefore capable of coming to fruition if it were priced realistically from the get-go, rather than miraculously hyped at a number that can’t possibly end in anything other than financial disaster.
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hate to say it, but Wise Brother Matthew is 100% on this one. I personally think it would be a waste of time even though the outcome would be cool as hell. So many knives could be made instead...
Imo, of course
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
What person in their right mind would pay $350 for a small axe? That is ridiculous. Why are we even talking about this?
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This can’t be a serious question.

If it is: Do you even watch secondary market prices on your stuff?!

Out of curiosity, when I first put forward this idea, what would you have guessed I’d have expected it to cost, ballpark figure?
 
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I’ll totally enjoy watching this come together, but you can count me out, you guys are true “edge junkies” and we’re all “not right in the head”. My cheap axes do just fine for what I need! Can’t wait to see what a CPK axe looks like though, I am sure it won’t disappoint!
 
JustinFournier said:
This can’t be a serious question.

If it is: Do you even watch secondary market prices on your stuff?!

Out of curiosity, when I first put forward this idea, what would you have guessed I’d have expected it to cost, ballpark figure?
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idunno?

I see that a person can get a pretty nice small axe for ~$175. But the steel and HT aren't exactly world class. I'll have that much coin in hard costs (steel, carbide, heat treat alone) making one in Delta 3V so I figure the least expensive I could approach this project was going to be around $350 finished, sharpened and hung. Mind you, I haven't run the numbers, I just know we're talking about a lot of money for a camp axe and I wasn't sure it made sense. I think that Matt is probably right and we're looking at a fair bit more than that to do a nice build and still be worth running it. Which is why Jo is just shaking her head here.

How much were you expecting?
 
This really interests me. I have a 36" Fiskars splitter and GB Scandinavian Forest Axe. Not 100% happy with either but they work for now. The steel on the Fiskars is incredibly soft while the edge on the GB seems to micro-chip easily. I would totally be down for an axe in D3V!
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
idunno?

I see that a person can get a pretty nice small axe for ~$175. But the steel and HT aren't exactly world class. I'll have that much coin in hard costs (steel, carbide, heat treat alone) making one in Delta 3V so I figure the least expensive I could approach this project was going to be around $350 finished, sharpened and hung. Mind you, I haven't run the numbers, I just know we're talking about a lot of money for a camp axe and I wasn't sure it made sense. I think that Matt is probably right and we're looking at a fair bit more than that to do a nice build and still be worth running it. Which is why Jo is just shaking her head here.

How much were you expecting?
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I only own a few of those GB axes so I'm not well versed at all when it comes to pricier and more custom-type axes, but looking at some LH (Liam Hoffman?) axes in a pedestrian way, was an eye-opening experience for me. Seems $350 to be just the baseline and base model kinda axe when it comes to the fancier axe market. Again, I am not expert and don't wish to ruffle feathers but I was expecting for the CPK axe with the specs which you had in mind, to come in at around 5 bill$.
 
I will say this; I have been collecting and using axes and hawks for years. I tend to put them all through paces quite a bit. I have many from Granfors, 4 RMJ hawks, 2 customs, Council Tools....you name it. However I can say with complete confidence that the one do all axe I have is the Husqvarna Carpenters axe. Even though it was around 50 bucks, it just plain outperforms most everything else I have as a general do-all. It stays in the truck and has has more use than most any cutting tool I have. The weight is perfect and the design of the beard is excellent. Rough work and detail work with it are pleasant. For what it is, it stays pretty sharp to under use. I do wish the poll was a bit more hardened though. In general, If there was some way to improve on it's basic traits, I would say that would be as close to a do all as one could get. That is, of course, just my opinion. If you own one, I imagine you may know what I am talking bout.
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
idunno?

I see that a person can get a pretty nice small axe for ~$175. But the steel and HT aren't exactly world class. I'll have that much coin in hard costs (steel, carbide, heat treat alone) making one in Delta 3V so I figure the least expensive I could approach this project was going to be around $350 finished, sharpened and hung. Mind you, I haven't run the numbers, I just know we're talking about a lot of money for a camp axe and I wasn't sure it made sense. I think that Matt is probably right and we're looking at a fair bit more than that to do a nice build and still be worth running it. Which is why Jo is just shaking her head here.

How much were you expecting?
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How about an option to buy just the axe head. Less time and work for CPK - and I might be able to afford two instead of one.
 
While I think that this would be an interesting project, and I'd be in for one, I think it would make a lot more sense to only do this after another run of the skinner and another run of the potato knife and/or another kitchen knife.

I know I'd use either of those more than a CPK axe, and I'd expect that they would be of interest to a much wider audience.
 
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